VP Commercial & Marketing

Job description

## Who are we? **Smarkets: Predicting the Future of Betting** Smarkets runs one of the world's most sophisticated prediction markets, handling over £29 billion in volume since 2010 and engaging 200,000+ traders globally. We're a technology company that happens to revolutionise betting, from sports to political markets, to delivering the sharpest prices and the fairest odds. At the heart of our success are our people. We create a high-performance environment where exceptional talent can thrive, blending deep business experience with a commercial mindset to drive strategic growth. If you're ready to help shape the future of prediction markets with cutting-edge technology and a customer-first philosophy, Smarkets is where you belong. We welcome applications from candidates who are genuinely energised by the challenge of building a brand and a growth engine at scale, and who have the track record to prove it. We look forward to reviewing your application. ## The Team This role sits at the heart of our commercial strategy, overseeing marketing teams and working shoulder-to-shoulder with product, trading, data, and the executive team to grow the business. Prediction markets and exchange products are having a moment, and the team's job is to capture that energy: building the Smarkets brand and the brands within our group, and making every pound of the marketing budget work harder than the last. ## About the Role: As our VP Commercial & Marketing, you'll be responsible for every marketing lever we have: brand, acquisition, and retention, across multiple markets, including UK and US. Your team will be accountable for how the world discovers Smarkets and the brands within our group, why they choose us over anyone else, and why they stay. We're looking for a senior leader who has scaled a direct-to-consumer brand before and understands the pitfalls and opportunities. We need someone who will set the strategy for marketing and roll up their sleeves to execute. If you want to direct from a distance, this isn't the role for you. If you want to own the number, build up the team, and be measured on the growth you deliver, read on. You will own the marketing budget, and we'll expect you to make every pound work harder than the last. Success looks like ROI and disciplined scaling; failure looks like vanity spend that fails to deliver the unit economics. This role reports to the COO and sits at the heart of our commercial strategy. ## What you will do: - **Own the Strategy:** Own a multi-jurisdiction marketing strategy end-to-end, accountable for design and execution across brand, acquisition, and retention. - **Shape Go-to-Market:** Help develop the commercial strategy for go-to-market projects and our core brands. - **Deliver ROI:** Accountable for effective ROI on the annual marketing budget. - **Build the Team:** Mentor and develop a high-performing marketing team, raising the bar on talent and standards. - **Scale Performance Marketing:** Build the processes to scale performance marketing across paid channels, relentlessly improving CAC, ROAS, and payback. - **Sharpen the Brand:** Sharpen and grow the Smarkets brand: our positioning, our voice, and how we show up in a crowded market. - **Drive Retention:** Develop the retention and lifecycle strategy, turning first-time users into loyal, high-value traders through CRM and lifecycle marketing. - **Own the Metrics:** Define the metrics that matter, hold the team to them, and make decisions grounded in data. - **Partner Cross-Functionally:** Partner closely with product, trading, data, and commercial teams to align marketing with the wider business roadmap. ## Role Requirements: - **Proven Brand Builder:** A senior marketing leader with a proven track record of scaling a brand. - **D2C Experience:** Real experience growing a D2C/consumer business where you owned the relationship with the customer directly. - **Multiple markets:** Has successfully executed a marketing strategy for multiple geographic or cultural regions. - **Efficient Growth:** A demonstrable record of growing a business through efficient acquisition; we want to see strong ROI, not just big spend. - **Full-Funnel Fluency:** You've owned brand, performance acquisition, and retention, and understand how they compound. - **Genuinely Data-Driven:** You live in the metrics (CAC, LTV, ROAS, payback) and use them to make hard calls. - **Builder and Operator:** Hands-on, decisive, and energised by getting things done rather than delegating them away. - **Communicator:** Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English, with the ability to collaborate effectively across a fast-moving, cross-functional business. - **Nice-to-have:** Experience in sports, sports betting, or gaming is a strong plus. ## Our Values Our values are at the heart of everything we do, guiding how we work, collaborate, and innovate. They reflect what we expect of ourselves and each other to deliver the best results, while fostering a positive, high-performing environment: - **Push to Win:** We set ambitious goals and relentlessly pursue them, always striving for excellence. - **Make Others Better:** We lift each other up, share knowledge, and celebrate team success over individual achievement. - **Give a Shit:** We care deeply about our work, our users, and the impact we make. - **Be a Pro:** We take ownership, act with integrity, and consistently deliver to a high standard. - **Bring the Energy:** We bring positivity, curiosity, and enthusiasm to everything we do, inspiring those around us. **Culture Fit:** These values define how we succeed as a team. If this isn't you, this may not be the right place. We hire people who thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative, and ambitious environment. ## Perks & Benefits We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, alongside a dynamic, collaborative environment where your work truly makes an impact and your voice is heard. Our team is diverse, driven, and ambitious, united by a strong work ethic and a hunger to innovate and win. Our benefits are designed around Health, Wealth, and Development, supporting you both professionally and personally. These include: - **Stock Options:** Vest over 4 years, your success is our success. - **Pension Scheme:** Competitive plan via Aviva, with up to 6% matched contributions if you opt in. - **Health Insurance:** Comprehensive coverage to keep you and your family healthy. - **Enhanced Parental Leave:** Enhanced maternity and paternity leave to support you through life's most important moments. - **Stay Fuelled:** Enjoy fresh, chef-made breakfast and lunch every day, plus a constant supply of fruit, snacks, tea, coffee and soft drinks, because great work starts with great food. - **Cycle-to-Work Scheme:** Support for sustainable commuting and staying active. - **Learning & Development:** £1,000 annual education budget for courses, conferences, books, or training. - **Holiday:** 25 days paid leave plus bank holidays, with the option to carry over 5 days. - **Flexible Working:** Hybrid model with 3 days in the office and 2 days from home to fit your lifestyle. - **Global Working:** Work from anywhere in the world for up to 20 days a year. - **Team Energy:** Regular socials, hackathons, and events, because collaboration and fun go hand-in-hand. ## What happens next We aim to have a simple and speedy hiring process, and we want to make sure that we are right for you as much as the other way around. - **CV application review:** We will review it as quickly as possible. - **Let's chat:** A quick chat with our team about your experience and the role. - **Experience & Track Record:** A deep-dive with the hiring manager on the growth you've delivered and how you did it. - **Strategy Session:** Present how you'd approach the Smarkets growth challenge. - **In-Office Interview:** Lunch with the team, plus a chat with the leadership team. ## Diversity & Inclusion We're an equal opportunities employer and celebrate diversity in all its forms. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know; we're happy to accommodate your needs.